Pokemon Restart
by pikablu38
Summary: After the Sinnoh League, Ash decides that it's time for a change. Instead of going to a new region straight away he decides to stay in Kanto and train his pokemon. But with an evil organization being a lot more dangerous than before, he'll stumble into something a lot more difficult than a simple training trip. Advanceshipping in later chapters.
1. Change of Pace

**Hey guys, this is my first story and I hope you like it. This story takes place right after the Sinnoh league and it'll have some elements from the games. Now, the story is going to focus on Ash on the beginning and go through some timeskips but it'll settle to a steady pace later on. Anyway, this is going to be an advanceshipping story and I hope to do the pairing justice.  
**

* * *

**Pokemon Restart**

**Chapter 1**

**Change of Pace  
**

* * *

The sun shone down on Pallet Town, Pidgeys flew through the blue skies emitting cries as they disappeared into the looming forests surrounding the outskirts of the small town.

"Pika!"

A cry came from a Pikachu perched on its trainer's shoulder, a boy with jet black hair underneath a red cap with a black stripe running through the middle.

"I don't need you to remind me!" The boy shot back in slight panic before grumbling to himself, "Why is it so hard for me to make it to Professor Oak's in time?"

"Pikachu…"

Ash growled in return, not too fond of his best friend calling him lazy. Besides, it wasn't even his fault that they were running late. It had been about a week since they had taken part in the Sinnoh League and he had slept in every day since then. That had come back to bite him in the butt though as he, for whatever reason, ended up telling Professor Oak that he would meet him at eight in the morning. Thanks to his new sleeping patterns he had overslept and was running really late.

He was broken out of his thoughts when seeing the not so distant building that housed Professor Oaks' lab. "We're almost there buddy," he smiled as he quickened his pace.

* * *

_**Flashback  
**_

_Ash Ketchum, finalist of most Pokemon League tournaments was in a slump, having been defeated by Tobias with only two pokemon. The two were pokemon of legend but he wouldn't take that as an excuse, he couldn't do that to his pokemon, it was like saying they were the reason for his loss. What the battle had done was open his eyes._

_He had been traveling from region to region so quickly that he forgot the most essential thing, unlocking the potential of his pokemon. It made him no better than Paul in a sense. He kept on catching pokemon and ignored some of the others, not helping them out when they gladly helped him every time._

_"Pika?"_

_Ash glanced back to see his very first pokemon walking to the balcony where he stood, gazing at the moonlit sky._

_"Hey buddy, what are you doing up?"_

_"Pika pi," Pikachu let out as he jumped to Ash's shoulder._

_"I'm just thinking about what we're going to do next…" he trailed off, eyes burning in determination as a smile formed on his face, "We're not going to another region this time. How does staying home in Kanto sound?"_

_"Pikachu!"_

_Ash chuckled and patted his friend's head affectionately, "We could even drop by to see some of our friends and check up on them."_

* * *

The doors of Oak's Lab slammed open as a panting Ash supported himself on his knees, Pikachu rolling off his shoulders but landing safely on the floor.

"What's all this ruckus," Professor Oak muttered to himself as he came out of a door to see Ash panting on the front door with Pikachu on the floor. He couldn't help but smile in amusement after seeing his disheveled appearance. "Some habits die hard."

The trainer regained his breath and looked at the professor apologetically, "Sorry about being late."

"No problem, there was really no need for you to come in early. It's not like you're getting your first pokemon today or anything," he commented, earning an embarrassed laugh from the young trainer. "Now come on, they're waiting for you," with that Professor Oak walked out the door to the spacious field in which he kept all the pokemon sent to him by traveling trainers.

Ash followed after him with an exited smile, never getting tired of seeing the friends from his previous travels. He set a foot outside and was instantly greeted by his large amount of pokemon, all cheering happily with some tackling him in affection.

"Nice to see you too Bayleef," Ash chuckled as he gently pushed the pokemon away from him while patting her head.

"They've been waiting here to see who you're taking with you," Oak explained as he placed both hands behind his back, a bit curious about who Ash was taking with him. He had been surprised at first, having received Ash's request to help him think of any place in Kanto where he could train. The surprise had settled for a bit of pride at seeing the young trainer begin to mature and take the time to work with his current pokemon instead of going to a new region.

Ash smiled sadly as he looked at his team, wishing he could take all of them but knowing that he couldn't."Don't be sad if I don't pick you, I'm going to be traveling here in Kanto and plan on training each and every one of you, I promise," he explained with a smile, receiving cheers from his pokemon.

* * *

"Who knew we would be coming back here?" Ash reminisced as he walked through the grassy plains where he had begun his journey. He could still remember that day vividly, leaving his home town, meeting Pikachu, meeting Misty, facing off the horde of Spearows, and befriending Pikachu.

He smiled before looking up at the sky, at the spot in which he had seen Ho-Oh flying to be exact. This was a new start for him and his pokemon, a start in which he didn't plan to let his friends down.

"Let's go Pikachu!" He exclaimed as he broke into a run, Pikachu clinging to his head with excitement on its features.

* * *

Current Team:

Pikachu

Quilava

Totodile

Bayleef

Gible

Swellow

**A/N: The reason this chapter is so short is because it's only the prologue to the story. Next chapter should be here soon and it's going to be a lot longer than this one.  
**


	2. Team Rocket

**Pokemon Restart**

**Chapter 2**

**Team Rocket**

* * *

Ash grinned as he watched his team of pokemon enjoying the day on a clearing just outside of Viridian City. Totodile swam through a lake happily while the rest of the pokemon where playing on the water's edge, with the exception of Quilava and Gible who preferred to play on the grass.

It was nice to take his mind off of things, especially when everyone in Viridian City was acting weird. The first thing he had noticed upon making it there was the lack of people on the streets, he had waved it off as him thinking too much but when some random person took a look at him and ran, he knew that there was something off. He had gone to the Pokemon Center afterwards but found it to be closed which made alarm bells go off in his head.

"I'd hate to leave like this…" he muttered to himself as he laid himself on the ground with his hands behind his head.

"Hey you kid!"

Ash figured that he must've dozed off as his eyes snapped open and he sat up at the sudden loud voice. He looked around and narrowed his eyes when seeing a man nearing him at a dangerously fast pace, his pokemon where aware of the fact and quickly moved to stand between him and the man dressed in a black Team Rocket uniform.

The Team Rocket member smirked as he fingered the pokeballs strapped to his belt. "You've got some fine looking pokemon there boy," he took a ball in hand before he pointed it at the young trainer, "It'd be a shame if someone took them from you."

"Totodile, go!" Ash exclaimed as he gave the man a glare.

The man chuckled in amusement as he threw his pokeball in the air. "Go, Golbat!"

Totodile stood off against the bigger flying pokemon while bouncing in place in excitement. "Totodile use Water Gun!" The blue pokemon obeyed the command and let loose a powerful torrent of water towards the flying bat pokemon.

"Dodge that and use Wing Attack!" The Team Rocket member ordered as his pokemon evaded the attack without trouble and shot towards the smaller opponent.

"Quick! Dodge Totodile!" The blue pokemon let out a cry as it jumped over the attack with ease, now with an open shot at the foe's back. "Great, now use Water Gun!" This time the attack hit it's mark, impacting against the Golbat's back and slamming it on the ground.

"Dammit!"

"Not over yet…" Ash muttered, "Totodile use Slash!"

The big jaw pokemon broke into a sprint just as soon as its feet touched the ground, its right paw held back as it slashed at the fallen Golbat that had just begun to get back up. The bat pokemon was pushed back a few feet but managed to get up once more and took to the skies.

The Team Rocket watched the battle with a growl. "Stupid Pokemon! Use Poison Fang already!"

"Quick Totodile, use Water Gun to push him back!" Ash commanded as Totodile let out a shot of water that did nothing to slow down the foe. "Come on Totodile, you can do it!"

Totodile grunted under the strain but put more force on the attack, not wanting to let Ash down. "Todo… Dile!" it cried as the shot of water grew in size and took more force, managing to knock the Golbat back and engulf it in water.

Ash smiled in relief as he saw the Golbat fall on the ground with swirls on its eyes, meaning that it had been defeated. He chuckled when seeing Totodile cheer loudly at his victory but turned his attention back at the Team Rocket member in case he tried anything.

"You useless pokemon…" the Team Rocket member growled as he took out another pokeball and threw it on the air, "Finish 'em off Machoke!" The big grey pokemon appeared before Ash and Totodile, standing threateningly with a snarl.

"Are you ok to keep going Totodile?"

"Totodile!" It responded with confidence.

Ash smiled, "Alright then, let's do it Totodile!"

"Machoke, hit that thing with a Brick Break!" The Team Rocket member ordered as the Machoke charged in at Totodile that stood its ground with a growl.

Ash frowned as the larger pokemon came close, outrunning it could work but he was afraid that its long reach would be able to catch Totodile. "Alright Totodile, use Water Gun on the ground!" He watched in fascination as his pokemon nodded and let out a more powerful torrent of water that launched it high in the air. A smile spread on his face when noticing just how much powerful the attack was, "You learned Hydro Pump, huh?"

The Team Rocket member smirked, "Alright, use Seismic Toss!"

"Totodile dodge!"

The warning came too late as the Machoke caught Totodile in its arms before spinning in place and slamming him on the ground. Dust and debris kicked up in the area as Ash watched in worry as the dust settled.

"Hang in there Totodile!" Ash gritted his teeth in worry as the dust cleared up to show Totodile standing up and glowing a light shade of blue. He recognized the glow as Totodile's Torrent ability and grinned, "Okay, let's end this. Totodile use Hydro Pump!"

"Totodile!" The pokemon shot out a powerful shot of water double the size of a normal Hydro Pump that struck the Machoke on the chest. It cried out in pain as the attack threw the pokemon back until it struck against a large boulder.

The Machoke dropped down on the ground with swirls in its eyes, unconscious. Totodile cheered happily as the Team Rocket member recalled his pokemon and glared at Ash.

"You just won because my pokemon are weak," he scoffed before breaking into a smirk, "Just wait until the others hear of this. You might think beating me is the end but you've got no idea what you just got yourself into."

With that the man left, Ash looking after him with a worried frown. He didn't know what the Team Rocket member meant but he knew it would lead up to trouble.

"Swellow," he called out to his pokemon that had been standing with the others watching the battle, "Follow that guy and come back once you see where he came from. Don't get too close though, okay?"

"Swell!" Swellow nodded before flapping its wings and taking off.

* * *

It had been at least an hour since Swellow had returned and Ash wondered if he had messed up. Apparently, Swellow had followed the Team Rocket member to a large building guarded by even more Team Rocket members. He had only wanted to train in peace but had ended up stumbling upon one or _the_ Team Rocket base. It might seem cowardly but he knew that he wouldn't be able to last long against every member one after the other, so he was forced to run.

Which is why he was currently running through the close-to-deserted streets of Viridian City without a goal in mind. All he knew was that he had to find a place to hide before Team Rocket caught sight of him. His legs burned but he knew he had to keep going, Pikachu was running next to him and could spring into action any time but he didn't want to risk getting any attention so resting was out of the question.

He continued to run for a few blocks before his eyes widened in recognition, seeing a woman with blue hair walking through the streets with a plastic bag on hand. "Officer Jenny!" he called out. Sure, she wasn't wearing her uniform and was instead wearing a plain white dress but he could still recognize her by the hair.

The officer turned to look at the trainer in shock before looking down in apparent sadness, "Don't call me that."

"Huh?" Ash let out dumbly, "But it's you, right?"

"Pika, pika," Pikachu agreed.

Officer Jenny looked around the area before letting out a sigh, "Fine, just walk with me for a bit. I'll explain everything on the way."

Ash nodded as he and Pikachu trailed after the officer, both wondering what was going on.

"It happened a few months ago… Rookie trainers coming here began to lose their pokemon one by one. It started out small but the numbers kept on growing every day until Team Rocket would walk through the streets as if they owned the place. I tried to stop them with the police force but we were outnumberd, I don't even know how."

She looked down sadly as she, Ash and Pikachu continued to walk through the deserted streets. "All of us had our pokemon taken away from us and forced to back down. They warned us that if we called for reinforcements they would murder all of our pokemon," she rubbed her eyes before any tears fell, "I'm sure they have them singled out in case we try something. That's why nobody even comes out anymore, they're too afraid to have Team Rocket attack them."

"You should leave too, or they'll take away your pokemon like the rest of us," she finished weakly.

Ash and Pikachu stopped on their tracks as Jenny continued to walk without stopping. The young trainer now knew he had to do something. He couldn't just stand there with his arms crossed, what kind of trainer, no, person would walk away from something like this?

"We have to do something Pikachu," he commented, receiving a nod from his pokemon. A small smile formed on his face, "Thanks to Swellow we know where they're coming from. All that's left is to save the pokemon and make sure that Team Rocket leaves this place."

"Chu Pika." Pikachu nodded and punched at the air.

Ash chuckled and ruffled his head, "We have to get reinforcements first." He turned on his heels to see the looming roof of the Pokemon Center standing over the nearby buildings, "Looks like we're going to be breaking in Pikachu."

* * *

Night fell on Viridian City, darkening its streets that were only lit by a few lamp posts. Team Rocket members could be seen in some of the streets, looking around for sight of a trainer with strong pokemon that had been spotted in the vicinity. With nowhere to run but to their base or the city, they had quickly moved to roam the many streets of Viridian and surrounding forests in case the trainer was planning on leaving.

A couple of Team Rocket members stood on the road leading to their base. One of them smirked when seeing a shadow in the distance and, expecting to see a trainer, he reached for a pokeball but froze when seeing dozens of smaller shadows moving towards them.

"W-What the hell is that?" He let out dumbly before being struck by a bolt of lightning.

The other Team Rocket member let out a surprised yelp after seeing his partner go down. He quickly reached for a pokeball but he didn't do much else as he was struck by another bolt of lightning that brought him to his knees before he lost consciousness. The small shadows approached the fallen Team Rocket members, the moonlight shining down on their yellow fur and lightning-like tails.

"That was great guys," Ash emerged from the shadows with a smile on his face, Pikachu perched on his shoulders as dozens of his own kind were gathered around them. The young trainer had instantly thought of the large group of Pikachu that lived in the Pokemon Center when thinking of reinforcements. He had, of course, gotten permission from Nurse Joy though that had been difficult itself since she wasn't at the Pokemon Center and he had to get the help of one of the Pikachu in order to find her.

"Alright guys, we don't have a lot of time to spare so just listen carefully," he began with a serious expression on his face. The group of Pikachu looked at the trainer expectedly, exited at the idea of helping out a trainer since they had never done so before. "I need a group of you guys to go through the air vents or any sort of opening you can find. I had a friend of mine give me a good layout of the building from the skies so I know for sure that there's an air vent in the roof. Only go if you can get there, otherwise find another place to enter."

"Pika!" Was his chorused replied as he set his attention on another group of Pikachu.

"The rest of you are going to come with me and Pikachu here –"

"Pikachu!" His pokemon cheered from its place on his shoulder.

" – and help us take out any Team Rocket members sent our way," he nodded at himself, drawing in a breath in order to prevent any nervousness from showing on his voice. That was the last thing he needed, to make the others nervous. "Anyway, those of you that are going to be sneaking in go now, the others follow me."

"Pika! Chu! Pika! Chu!" The group of Pikachu cried together as some ran towards the direction of Team Rocket's base that could be seen in the distance, while the others stayed behind Ash as he began to move forward, his eyes set in determination in contradiction to his shaking hands and the lump in his throat.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" A Team Rocket member yelled out in panic as he and many other members ran through the dark hallways of the base.

The power had been cut off not too long ago, and several flashes of light could be seen every now and then. None of them doubted that they were being attacked but they had no idea who. The idea of some other team deciding to wage war at this point was preposterous, none of them were strong enough to stand after what ended up happening to them. Being beaten by kids had ended up crippling them. But then, who would be stupid enough to attack like this?

The Team Rocket members didn't have to wait long for the answers as they saw a pokemon trainer running through one of the hallways with a Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Wait there you little shit!" A Team Rocket member called out as he and the others followed after him, turning the corner he had just turned only to be met by dozens of Pikachu, "Oh, shit!"

He and the others were struck by a collective Thunderbolt and knocked out immediately. Ash managed a grin as he and Pikachu continued to run, leaving the group of Pikachu behind as there were more Team Rocket members chasing after them. Looking over his shoulder, he made sure to give the pokemon an appreciative nod before carrying on.

"We have to find the captured pokemon before Team Rocket tries to do anything with them," he told his faithful companion as they continued to run, passing by a long hallway and making it to a set of stairs. The building itself wasn't that impressive in the inside, at least he thought so, it was nothing but long hallways with a few large rooms. But then again, the power was out thanks to one of the Pikachu thinking it was a good idea. He wasn't ungrateful or anything, but things would've been easier if he could see where he was going.

He made it to the top of the stairs and stopped dead on his tracks, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to regain his breath. This time he was standing on a railway overlooking a spacious room that was mainly composed of rows and rows of pokeballs. His expression hardened as he and Pikachu approached a steel latter and made their way down, it wasn't until he made it down that he realized that something was very wrong.

The room was lit, unlike the rest of the building.

"What do we have here?"

Ash turned at the sound of the voice and saw a man with blue hair emerging from a glass sliding door, his black Team Rocket uniform different than the normal ones. This particular Team Rocket member had large grey gloves that reached his upper arm, and had the collar of his uniform popped up.

"I am often labeled as the scariest and cruelest guy in Team Rocket… I strongly urge you not to interfere with our business!" He spoke in a cocky voice as he emerged a pokeball from his grey belt.

Ash scowled and reached for a pokeball as well, "If that business is stealing pokemon and threatening a whole city, then of course I'm interfering!"

"Very well then," the Team Rocket member smirked. "My name is Proton and, since you seem to wish it, I'll show you the full extent of a Team Rocket Executive's wrath!" With that he threw his pokeball in the air, a Weezing emerging from it with a cry.

"Quilava, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed as he sent out his fire type pokemon.

"Quilava!" The pokemon cried, waiting for his trainer's instructions.

Proton smirked as he brought a hand to his black beret, "Wheezing, use Smoke Screen."

The pokemon complied as it let loose a layer of smoke that shielded it from Quilava. "Don't worry, just concentrate and wait until you hear it move," Ash instructed with a frown, "Then use Flame Wheel."

Quilava nodded, closing his eyes in an attempt to concentrate but was brought out of concentration as he was suddenly struck by a large amount of sludge. The fire pokemon growled and concentrated once more, this time hearing what sounded like Wheezing preparing to attack. Red eyes snapped open as Quilava rolled himself into a ball of fire and launched at the source of the noise, making a clean hit on the Wheezing's face.

"Way to go Quilava!" Ash cheered as the Wheezing was knocked out of the cloud of smoke. "Now follow up with Eruption!"

"Protect!"

Quilava launched a powerful fire attack that increased the temperature in the room drastically but it was blocked by a wall of energy that protected the Wheezing from harm. Ash frowned from his spot, strategies running through his head as the foe pokemon let loose a Sludge Bomb in Quilava's direction.

"Dodge it!" he tried to warn his pokemon but to no avail, the attack hit its mark and Quilava was knocked back several feet. But the pokemon wasn't down yet, it shook its head and gave a low cry, signifying it was okay.

Ash frowned, not liking the way things were going. He had to think harder, there had to be a way to take that Wheezing down. His eyes scanned the area and widened in realization when remembering that Protect wasn't a move that could be used for long.

"Quilava use Flame Wheel!"

His friend obeyed the command and encased itself in fire before launching at the enemy pokemon. "Protect once more," Proton smirked as the Wheezing became encased in a green glow.

"Good, now aim at the ground!" Ash ordered, much to Proton's confusion. Quilava moved towards the ground, the fade from Wheezing's attack disappearing as the young trainer smiled, "Now use the ground as leverage to bounce yourself straight at the Wheezing, don't hold back!"

"Qui…la…va!" The pokemon cried out as it shot towards the Wheezing at a breathtaking speed, Proton tried to get his pokemon to move, but it wasn't enough as the attack hit the foe dead on, instantly knocking it out.

Ash looked at his pokemon with pride, "That was amazing Quilava." He took out a pokeball and returned his pokemon, not before giving it a few last words of praise, "Take a good rest, you did really well."

"Ugh… Why the hell is a kid so strong?" Proton muttered to himself before taking out another pokeball, "Don't think this is over brat… Golbat, get out here!" The bat pokemon emerged from the pokeball, glaring at Ash as he looked at the pokemon on his shoulder.

"Alright buddy, you ready?"

"Pika…" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder, sparks emitting from his cheeks as he lowered to all fours.

Proton smirked, "Let's see if you're little rat can get the job done… Golbat use Sludge Bomb!"

"Pikachu, dodge and use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu easily evaded the attack and prepared a Thunderbolt in an instant, shooting towards the flying pokemon which managed to dodge by flapping wildly.

"That thing's no ordinary Pikachu…" Proton muttered with a frown, "Golbat! Don't get too close and keep on using Sludge Bomb!"

Ash grinned, confident in his partner's strength, "Pikachu, use Quick Attack to dodge and get in close."

"Pika!" The yellow pokemon nodded as he broke into a fast dash, easily evading the incoming Sludge Bombs and growing closer to the flying pokemon.

"Good. Now use Thunderbolt!"

Proton growled, "Dodge it!"

The Golbat began to flap its wings rapidly, but Ash and Pikachu were ready.

"Spin it!"

Proton's eyes widened as the Pikachu began to spin on the ground, increasing the reach and width of the attack and making full contact with his Golbat that could do nothing more than cry out in pain before falling unconscious on the ground.

"You did great Pikachu!" Ash smiled at his pokemon before turning back to the Team Rocket Executive that did nothing but return the Golbat with anger in his eyes.

"You may have won this time… But all you did was make Team Rocket's wrath grow…" he placed the pokeball on his belt and turned on his heels, "I won't call anyone over here though, most of them were knocked out by your rodents and we don't need this base anymore. Consider yourself lucky that you caught us at a time when our numbers were hilariously low."

Ash watched as the Team Rocket Executive left without saying another word. He turned to Pikachu and smiled once more, "We did it buddy. Now let's get all these pokemon back home."

* * *

The air was cool as Ash stood on a hill overlooking Viridian Forest, Pikachu on his shoulder as always. He was glad that the whole thing with Team Rocket was over, at least momentarily. He knew that they would be showing up again but he would be ready. For now he planned on visiting a few Gym Leaders to tell them to watch out for Team Rocket so that something like what happened in Viridian City wouldn't happen again. Officer Jenny had already told the police force to watch out for Team Rocket, but the extra hand of a Gym Leader wouldn't hurt.

"Alright Pikachu, let's get going," he smiled to himself as he and Pikachu began to move through the familiar outskirts of Viridian City, "It'll be great seeing Brock again."

"Pika," the electric pokemon agreed happily.

* * *

**Current Team:**

Pikachu

Quilava

Totodile

Bayleef

Gible

Swellow


	3. A New Rival Appears

**Pokemon Restart**

**Chapter 3**

**A New Rival Appears**

* * *

It took Ash Ketchum week to arrive at Cerulean City. This was mostly because he had been sidetracked by visiting Brock and staying with him for a couple of days, it had been a week since he had faced Team Rocket. After leaving Brock's, he set track for Mt. Moon but that turned out to be more difficult than he thought because he ended up encountering Team Rocket once again. Luckily it hadn't been too serious of an issue since there were only a few members apparently looking for rare pokemon.

Considering the fact that he hadn't been alone the first time he traveled through the cave, it took Ash a long time to find the way out. It was a lot easier than it sounded since he had been forced to go back to the Pokemon Center constantly due to confrontations with Team Rocket. Much to Ash's confusion though, Team Rocket simply vanished one day. He had looked around for them out of an odd sense of curiosity but he couldn't find a trace of them. Part of him was relieved that they were gone while the other was concerned at the thought of them finding whatever they were looking for.

For now he pushed those negative thoughts aside, a smile forming on his face as he recalled a good moment amidst all the chaos.

* * *

"Totodile, use Hydro Pump!

Ash's voice echoed through the badly lit inside of Mt. Moon. He, Pikachu and Totodile stood defiantly before three Team Rocket members and their pokemon, three zubat. Totodile did as instructed and let out a powerful torrent of water that washed away the three flying pokemon, easily knocking them out but not ending the fight as they were replaced by a couple of rattata and a raticate.

"These guys just keep on coming..." Ash growled, used to the Team Rocket members having large numbers of pokemon though they weren't that strong. "Totodile," he called out, earning his pokemon's attention, "Keep your distance and hit them with another Hydro Pump!"

The water pokemon once again let out another torrent of water, making contact with a single rattata while the other pokemon dodged the attack with ease. Just after avoiding the attack, the raticate shot towards Totodile and hit it with a tackle that knocked it back a couple of feet, this was followed by a rattata using a Bite attack on Totodile's side, making it cry out in pain.

"Pikachu, help Totodile out with an Iron Tail!" The electric pokemon quickly charged in at the rattata and struck it on the head with its hardened tail, using the momentum to bounce off the rattata's head and strike the raticate that was closing in on them once again though not causing much damage.

"Toto...dile..." Totodile cried out weakly as it rose to its feet, eyes squinted in weariness.

Ash frowned in worry and took out Totodile's pokeball but was stopped by his pokemon shaking its head. "You want to keep going?" he asked out of concern, receiving a confident nod in return. Ash smiled, proud of his pokemon, before pointing at the two enemy pokemon, "Totodile, use Hydro Pump on the ground!"

The Team Rocket members watched in puzzlement as the water pokemon shot high in the air, almost hitting the cave's ceiling but stopping before doing so.

"Now Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu became encased in electricity and charged in at the foes at a fast speed, making contact with the two remaining rattata but not with the raticate as it jumped over the attack, just as Ash had planned.

"Now's your chance Totodile! "Use Hydro Pump! Put all you have into it!"

"Toto..."

The cave shone brightly as Totodile was engulfed by a blinding light. Ash watched in fascination as his pokemon grew in size and changed its overall appearance as the light died down to reveal, no longer Totodile but Croconaw preparing to attack.

"Naw!" The newly evolved pokemon fired off a powerful torrent of water that struck the airbone raticate dead on, making it slam against the ground in a powerful collision that kicked up a large cloud of dust. It didn't take long for the dust to die down and reveal an unconscious raticate.

"Wow..." Ash muttered with a smile as he watched Croconaw cheering happily and rolling an arm in excitement.

* * *

Cerulean City was just as Ash remembered, quiet but still buzzing with life. He could see some people walking busily through the streets, kids running around with pokemon, and a few trainers declaring themselves the strongest and running off. From where he stood, he could see the gym in the distance, popular not only for containing the Cascade Badge, but also by the many performances it put on. **  
**

"Pika!" Pikachu let out happily from Ash's shoulder before running off, making the trainer chase after him with a smile.

"I know you wanna see Misty too but slow down," he tried to reason but his friend only ran faster. They gained a few looks from onlookers but the young trainer didn't mind, he was used to making a scene due to having so many hyperactive pokemon.

It wasn't long before the duo stood before the gym though they weren't in high spirits. A paper was stuck to the glass doors of the gym, right next to a 'closed' sign.

"Let's see..." Ash trailed off as he leaned towards the paper in an attempt to read the badly written message. "Closed... won't be back... Nvyyl Bridge?" he rubbed his chin in thought, "What do you think 'N-v-y-y-l' stands for buddy?"

Pikachu tried to think of something but shook his head in disappointment, "Pika..."

Ash scowled before deciding to leave, figuring that he should get some training done while he waiting for Misty or her sisters to get back. He thought over a good place to train until deciding for the route at the other side of the city. He hadn't really gotten to visit it on his two journeys though Kanto and he figured that now would be a good time to explore the whole area.

There was a calm silence as he and Pikachu made their way through the city before something caught their eye. He stopped walking, awed by the bright bridge that could be seen in the distance, it was so bright and shiny that it appeared to be made of gold.

He was broken out of his trance by a sudden push that knocked him face first onto the ground.

"Pikapi! Pikachu!" Pikachu cried out loudly after landing safely on the ground. he glared at the aggressor, sparks emitting from his cheeks threateningly.

The aggressor scoffed, "Am I supposed to be scared of a yellow rat?"

Ash quickly rose to his feet after hearing the jab. "What's you say?" He growled out while clenching his fists and looking over the person that had pushed him down. It turned out to be a guy about his age wearing faded purple pants, blue and red shoes that matched his long-sleeved jacket, and an odd device on his wrist. But one thing stood out the most, that being his red hair and fierce glare.

"You heard me," the aggressor frowned as he narrowed his eyes, "Humph! You wimps are all alike, thinking you can do anything you like simply because you're together."

Ash gritted his teeth, "That doesn't mean you can just push me like that."

"Chu! Pika!"

"Fine then," the aggressor emerged a pokeball from his belt, "My name's Silver. I'm going to be the world's greatest pokemon trainer. I'll show you the difference between us!"

Having said that the trainer threw the pokeball in the air as a haunter appeared before them. "Alright then," Ash took out a pokeball and threw it in the air as well, "Swellow, I choose you!"

The flying type emerged from the ball, letting out a cry as it flapped its wings to keep itself in the air.

"Use Aerial Ace!"

Silver scoffed, "Sucker Punch!"

Haunter's fists became engulfed in a dark aura as it quickly moved in towards Swellow and delivered a hard punch to its beak, knocking it down and making it crash on the ground.

"You okay Swellow?" Ash called out in concern and receiving a weak cry from his pokemon as it rose once more. "How can we avoid that attack..." he trailed off while biting his lip. It would be really difficult to attack if the haunter kept on hitting first.

"Thunderbolt!"

Ash's eyes widened as the haunter launched its attack at Swellow. "Dodge with Quick Attack!" He shot out in slight panic as the flying type shot upwards to avoid the attack. Ash let out a relieved sigh, "Great now use Double Team!"

Silver frowned as he tried to find the real swellow and not a copy, a problem his haunter seemed to have as well as it looked around in panic. "Wait for it to attack and use Sucker Punch," he commanded and received a nod from the ghost pokemon.

"Swellow, hit it with an Aerial Ace!"

"Swell!" The flying type let out as it dove towards the ghost type, its afterimages doing the same. The haunter panicked and attacked the first swellow it saw but it disappeared upon touch. At that moment the real Swellow landed a hit on the ghost type's back, sending it back several feet.

"Haunter use Curse!" Silver commanded with an icy glare on the haunter that could only comply and use the attack, badly hurting itself in order to cast a curse on Swellow.

Ash could only look in disbelief as the haunter went down in apparent pain before falling unconscious. "Don't think it ends here. You'll get what's coming to you for getting hurt against some weakling," he heard Silver growl at the pokeball.

"What's wrong with you?" Ash asked angrily, "You can't treat your pokemon like that! They're not some pawns you can throw away!"

Silver smirked and pointed at Swellow, "Worry about your own pokemon, you lighthearted wimp."

No sooner than he said that, Swellow hit the ground with a weak cry. "S-Swellow!" Ash stammered as he returned his pokemon and looked down at the pokeball, "Sorry about that. Take a rest, you did great."

"Scyther, get out here!" Silver called out his next pokemon which appeared before Ash with its blades raised.

Said trainer glared at Silver before taking out another pokeball, "Quilava, I choose you!"

The fire type appeared before the scyther, its red eyes sharp and focused.

"Playing the type advantage card, huh?" Silver muttered to himself before looking at his Scyther, "Swords Dance!"

The scyther sharpened its blades while moving in place, making Ash uneasy, "Quilava quick, use Eruption!"

Quilava did as instructed and let loose a powerful wave of fire that emitted from its head and tail, shooting towards the opponent and raising the temperature in the area quite a bit.

"Protect." Silver smirked as the attack didn't hit its mark and left the fire type exposed. "Now use Slash!"

"Look out Quilava!" Ash cried out but it didn't help as his pokemon was hit dead on with the scyther's blade, knocking it out in one hit. He cursed himself for not thinking faster and returned his pokemon before turning to look at Pikachu, "You ready buddy?"

"Pika," Pikachu nodded confidently as it ran over to stand before Scyther.

Silver watched the scene in amusement, "Let's see your weak rat do anything but play dead."

Ash frowned and pointed at the scyther, "Pikachu use Volt Tackle!"

The redheaded trainer smirked, "Dodge."

Scyther sidestepped the incoming attack, leading it straight into what Ash was hoping for.

"Spin it!" He let out as Pikachu jumped while spinning, causing the Volt Tackle to head straight into the scyther with much more power due to the drilling effect the spin gave it. The bug pokemon could only cry out as the attack hit its mark and knocked it out.

"Pikachu! Pika!" Pikachu cried out to Silver with a smug look on his face, making the redheaded trainer growl.

He returned his pokemon and took out another ball, "End this, Ursaring!"

The large normal type appeared before Pikachu with rage apparent on its features. Pikachu smirked and emitted sparks from his cheeks.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika… Chu!" the electric pokemon shot a powerful electric attack at the Ursaring that wasn't able to dodge due to its slow speed. It cried in pain but managed to hold on, though left severely weakened.

Silver now felt worried, not sure why that pikachu was so strong, the thing couldn't weigh more than thirty pounds. "Ursaring, use Earthquake!"

The pokemon jumped in the air before slamming towards the ground, causing a powerful quake to rock the area. Pikachu though, was not one to be caught by an attack like that and was already airborne when the attack hit, leaving the foe open for an attack.

"Good job Pikachu! Now use Iron Tail!" Pikachu spun in the air before delivering the harsh attack on the ursaring's head, knocking it out without trouble.

"Pikachu!" The electric pokemon cried out in pride, earning another look from the redheaded trainer.

He took out another pokeball, "Pupitar, you better get something done!"

"Pikachu return!" Ash called out to his friend who complied and began to make his way back.

Silver growled, "Pursuit!"

The pupitar shot towards Pikachu and delivered a harsh blow to its back before it managed to return to Ash.

"You alright buddy?"

"Pika…" Pikachu nodded though feeling hurt.

Ash's eyes hardened on the opponent as he raised a hand in order to turn his hat before taking out another pokeball. "Croconaw, I choose you!" The water pokemon emerged from the ball with a happy cry, waving both arms. "Quickly, hit it with a Hydro Pump!"

"Use Dig," Silver commanded and, just as the attack was about to hit, the pupitar dug underground. The redheaded trainer kept a stoic expression before raising a fist, "Attack now!"

The pupitar emerged beneath Croconaw who could do nothing to avoid being hurled through the air due to the attack, though it managed to land without much trouble.

"Croconaw, Hydro Pump again!"

"Dig!"

The pupitar dug into the ground once more, avoiding the attack though Ash had a plan. "Now Croconaw, use Hydro Pump into one of the holes!"

The water pokemon did as instructed and let loose a powerful stream of water into one of the holes, causing water to shoot out of each hole dug. Silver growled as he watched his pokemon be sent through the air, completely vulnerable.

"Now use Ice Fang!"

Croconaw jumped towards the pupitar and bit down on its hard body as ice began to freeze the pokemon that let out a cry before going unconscious.

The redheaded trainer scoffed and returned his pokemon before quickly sending out another. Croconaw cocked its head to the side after seeing another of its kind appear before him though this one did nothing but glare.

"Croconaw, use Superpower!" Silver commanded as his croconaw shot toward Ash's and delivered a hard punch to its body, sending it flying through the air before it crashed against a tree. The water type was instantly knocked out by the harsh attack.

Ash returned his pokemon with a worried frown, "Don't worry, I'll get you to Nurse Joy in no time." He then turned to Pikachu, who nodded confidently, "Alright, let's do it!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried out as it prepared for battle.

"Croconaw, use Waterfall!" The water type pokemon became engulfed in water before shootings towards Pikachu who easily spun over the attack in order to evade it.

Ash took notice of the trail of water following the water type, and smirked. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the ground!" Pikachu seemed to understand what Ash was thinking and quickly aimed its attack at the water trail the croconaw left behind, lighting it up and hitting the opponent dead on.

"Croco…" the water type struggled against the attack before its eyes snapped open and it broke through the attack with strength alone, "Naw!"

"Pika?" Pikachu let out in disbelief as the water type closed in and delivered a Waterfall attack, this time making contact.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out in worry as he watched his friends sail through the air.

Silver smirked, "Use Hydro Pump on it!"

Croconaw seemed to smirk as it let loose a powerful torrent of water that hit Pikachu dead on and sent him crashing towards a tree.

Ash was instantly running to his pokemon's side but stopped when seeing Pikachu standing on the rubble, panting hard but looking at the croconaw through furious yet determined eyes. "I know I can't stop you from fighting so let's get this over with," Ash grinned as he shot an arm forward, "Pikachu use Volt Tackle! Max power!"

"Pika!" Pikachu let out as it broke into an all-out run towards the croconaw, far too fast to be avoided in time.

"Croconaw, use Waterfall!"

Left with no choice but to move forward, the croconaw became encased in water before shooting towards Pikachu. The two attacks met in a powerful collision that shot up clouds of smoke and caused an explosion due to the raw power behind the attacks.

Ash and Silver watched the scene until the dust cleared to reveal the two pokemon knocked out. Silver scowled while Ash ran over to his friend and picked him up.

"You did awesome Pikachu."

"Pikapi…" Pikachu muttered weakly as Ash carried him in his arms and stood before Silver once more.

"Do you still want to go on? Our pokemon have had enough," Ash spoke up to the redheaded trainer who only took out another pokeball. "It should be his last one…" he muttered to himself before placing Pikachu on the ground and patting his head, "This should be over soon." His eyes narrowed as he took out another pokeball and sent it through the air, Silver doing the same.

A bagon emerged on Silver's side while Gible appeared on Ash's. The two trainers were unsure of what to do, both pokemon were weak to each other and the wrong move could cost the battle. Ash found himself not too worried about winning as he was more worried over getting his pokemon to the Pokemon Center.

"Bagon, use Headbutt!"

"Counter with Dragon Pulse!"

Gible let out a powerful attack on the incoming Bagon, knocking it back several feet.

Silver gritted his teeth, knowing that his pokemon was at a clear disadvantage since it didn't know any long range attacks, "…This can't be happening…"

Ash frowned deeply as he instructed the final move of the battle, "Gible, end this with Draco Meteor!"

Gible shot a powerful attack towards the sky which exploded into many that headed towards the bagon that could do nothing but try to run, though it didn't help as it was engulfed by the attack and knocked unconscious.

Silver returned his pokemon, his grip on the pokeball tightening in a show of rage. "I hate the weak. Pokemon, trainers. It doesn't matter who or what. I hate to see them hanging around," he began to walk away but not before fixing Ash with a final glare, "You stay out of my way. Things won't end the same way next time."

Ash returned Gible before picking up Pikachu, turning to where Silver was going and frowning. He didn't know where the guy came from but he was several times worse than Paul. The guy was strong and Ash knew that things could end up badly if he slacked off in training and ran into the guy again.

For now he would go to the Pokemon Center, his pokemon needed it.

* * *

**Current Team:**

Pikachu

Quilava

Croconaw

Bayleef

Gible

Swellow


	4. Showdown at Diglett's Cave!

**Pokemon Restart**

**Chapter 4  
**

**Showdown at Diglett's Cave!  
**

* * *

Ash took in a deep breath as he arrived at Vermilion City, having traveled through an underground tunnel for hours he was glad to finally get a bit of fresh air. He was currently on the outskirts of the city which was filled with trees and a few ponds. Pikachu yawned as he emerged from Ash's backpack, rubbing his eyes before climbing up and taking his spot on the trainer's shoulder.

"How was your nap buddy?" He chuckled as he scratched Pikachu's head fondly, receiving an approving cry.

The trip to Cerulean had been cut short after his encounter with Silver. Apparently there had been some commotion on the Nugget Bridge that involved Team Rocket. He wasn't entirely sure of what happened but he had heard that a kid with red hair had dispatched of them. There was no doubt in his mind that it had been Silver but he couldn't understand why he would go through the trouble of running them out of town when he didn't seem to be the kind of person to help others.

"Hey you over there!"

He was broken out of his thoughts by a loud voice. Turning to the source, he was met with a girl dressed casually in a blue sleeveless blouse, a red skirt, and a white hat on top of her long brown hair.

"I had to meet you again," she spoke with a smile on her face, "My name's Green. I watched your battle back at Cerulean the other day. You really showed that guy what a great trainer you are."

Ash appeared confused but took the compliment regardless, "Um… thanks."

"Don't mention it. You have to be the strongest trainer I've ever met, not to mention handsome," she went on.

The young trainer exchanged a look with Pikachu, both utterly confused.

"Anyway," she reached into the bag she carried on her shoulder and pulled out a plastic bag, "A great trainer like you cannot go without one of these." Green waved the bag, its contents rustling, "All of the items here are guaranteed to make your pokemon a lot stronger. Just imagine they're effect on pokemon that are already amazing."

Ash looked at the bag wearily, "I don't have a lot of money on me right now…"

"No problem!" Green beamed as she pushed the bag onto his chest, "Just give me whatever you feel is alright. I promise that you won't be disappointed."

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, wanting to count his money but it was snatched before he could do much else. Green pulled out a bit of cash, returned the wallet, gave him a smile, and ran off.

"D-Did I just get duped?" Ash stammered as he pocketed his wallet and looked at the contents of the bag, finding only used cans and empty cartons. His right eye twitched as he reached for a pokeball and threw it in the air, Swellow appearing before him. "Take the skies and follow after a girl wearing a white hat and blue shirt. Don't let her get away."

"Swell!"

"Let's go Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed as he ran after Swellow, keen on getting his money back.

* * *

"Another successful escape," Green smiled to herself as she counted the money she had taken from the trainer. "What? This guy's poor, he barely had anything," she groaned and pocketed the money, figuring that she might as well buy herself something to eat.

"Stop right there!"

Her eyes widened in surprise as she whirled around to meet the trainer she had just taken the money from. His pikachu emitted sparks as a threat, obviously mad at her stealing from his trainer.

"How did you find me?" she couldn't help but ask.

Ash pointed upwards, where a swellow descended next to him and flapped its wings to stay afloat. She scowled, wondering what to do in order to get away since it looked like the guy would be persistent. It was her fault, she decided, since trying to dupe someone with strong pokemon was not one of her smartest moves.

"Now give me my money back," the young trainer demanded with a glare.

Green looked down, shoulders slouching. "I-I'm very sorry…" she trailed off as she raised her face to meet the eyes of the trainer's. A few tears gathered in her eyes as she bit her lower lip to stop its trembling, "I just really wanted to meet you. Y-You didn't like the stuff I gave you?"

"You gave me empty cans and cartons, I'm not falling for your act again," Ash spoke in a bit of annoyance, making Green drop her act and cross her arms.

"Fine then," she reached into the bag she carried over her shoulder and pulled out a poke ball. "Blasty, come on out!" A wartortle emerged from the pokeball, standing before Ash in defense of its trainer.

"If you wanna battle then it's fine by me," Ash reached into his belt and took out a pokeball before throwing it in the air, "Bayleef, I choose you!"

"Bay!" Bayleef cried out as she appeared before Blasty.

Green frowned, knowing she was at a disadvantage. "Blasty use Hydro Pump!"

"Bayleef dodge it!"

The grass type easily moved away from the attack before charging in at the opponent. "Now use Razor Leaf!" Bayleef complied and sent a set of sharp leaves at the wartortle.

"Use your shell to take cover!" Green cried out in slight panic as her pokemon did as instructed, effectively protecting itself from the attack.

Ash was not one to give up easily and quickly gave another command to Bayleef, "Use Vine Whip to send it flying!"

"Bay!" The grass type cried out as it produced a pair of strong vines that wrapped around the water pokemon's shell before hurling up high.

"Good job now use Razor Leaf!"

"Blasty, knock them away with a Hydro Pump!"

The wartortle emerged from its shell and let loose a powerful stream of water that knocked aside the incoming leaves.

Ash grinned, "Now that its unprotected use Vine Whip on its feet!"

Green could only look in confusion as the vines wrapped around her pokemon's ankles. "Use Hydro Pump!"

"Slam it on the ground before it can attack!" Ash ordered as his pokemon slammed the water type on the ground, kicking up a cloud of debris. "Now use Razor Leaf!"

"Bay!" Bayleef cried out as she hurled sharp leaves at the wartortle, all of them making contact before the pokemon was knocked out.

"Blasty!" Green cried out in worry as she ran over to her pokemon to make sure it was okay.

"T-Tortle…" the pokemon attempted to smile at its trainer to keep her from worrying. Green smiled and returned her pokemon, touched by his tough act.

"Thanks for your help, you should take a rest," she pocketed her ball and approached Ash. "Here," she began as she pulled out his cash and handed it to him, "I know when I'm outmatched so here's your money back. You're a really strong trainer."

Ash grinned as he pulled out his wallet to put the money back before placing it back in his back pocket, "Thanks, you're pretty good too. I didn't expect your wartortle to use its shell like that. Except for my Squirtle, I've never seen another do it."

"You have a squirtle?" she asked, receiving a nod. "That makes us friends then," she giggled and threw her arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

"W-What?" Ash let out in panic while Pikachu watched from the ground while shaking his head.

Green pulled away and gave him another smile, a blush adorning her cheeks, "I'll see you later… um, what's your name?"

"Oh, it's Ash," he replied a bit awkwardly.

The girl giggled once more, while pulling back a strand of hair that got on her face, "I hope we meet again Ashy!"

"Girls are strange…" Ash muttered to himself as he watched Green leave. He turned to Pikachu and gave him a glare, "Why were you just standing there shaking your head?"

"Pika…" Pikachu replied with another shake of his head.

"What do you mean dense?"

Pikachu said nothing, instead climbed up his trainers arm and made himself comfortable on his shoulder.

"You're gonna have to answer sooner or later," Ash grumbled as he and Pikachu made their way to Vermilion City.

* * *

The sun stung Ash's eyes as he and Pikachu exited the Pokemon Center, feeling refreshed after a good night of sleep. He was still mad at himself for just playing into Green's game, he should've known that she would swipe his wallet while hugging him like that. But for now he pushed those thoughts aside, instead focusing on the rumors he had heard in the Pokemon Center.

Apparently there was something shady going on around Diglett's Cave. He decided to check it out since he had nothing better to do and it would give him a chance to train some of his pokemon.

"Pikapi pika," Pikachu called his attention while pointing to a large cave that wasn't that far from the shore.

"That's it, huh?" He couldn't help but let out uncertainly since he had thought the cave would be further away from the city. It really hadn't taken that long to go from the Pokemon Center to the cave. "Let's go then."

It didn't take long for Ash and Pikachu to arrive at the cave, the young trainer entering without a second thought. He and Pikachu walked for a few minutes before it became harder to see so he pulled out a pokeball, "Quilava, come on out."

"Quilava!" The pokemon cried out happily.

"Hey buddy, I need you to light the way."

"Lava!"

The cave became lit as Quilava emerged fire from its head and tail. Ash smiled as he, Pikachu and Quilava continued to make their way through the cave. He would occasionally hear odd sounds but they disappeared as soon as he heard them.

"I don't think there's anything here…" he muttered to himself after having walked for a good while. He was tempted to leave until he saw light emitting from deeper in the cave. Confused, he pressed on to see many lamps set up around the place. "Return," he recalled Quilava to his ball and looked around the place in wonder.

It looked like a lot of excavating had been done but there didn't appear to be any people around. He would have thought that the diglett were responsible but the presence of the many lamps told him otherwise. The sounds of footsteps suddenly echoed in the area and Ash quickly hid behind a large boulder before peeking out of it, Pikachu doing the same.

Alarm shot through his being when he noticed who they were. A handful of Team Rocket grunts carrying cloth bags that were slung over their shoulders. Part of him wanted to leave but the other was sure that he could take them. He had defeated a lot more of them in Mt. Moon and it was pretty much the same environment, making him wonder why exactly Team Rocket was looking around caves, but he shook his head to focus on the task at hand.

He finally decided to spring into action but stopped when he noticed another person walking behind the Team Rocket members. His large build and spiky blond hair made Ash recall the man instantly. It was the same man that had given him his third Kanto badge. It was Lt. Surge and he was sure that the gym leader was there to take down Team Rocket.

Feeling confident with an ally, Ash emerged from his hiding place, instantly gaining the attention of the Team Rocket members. "Go, Croconaw!" he called out his pokemon, grinning when seeing Lt. Surge call out his raichu. It looked like the Team Rocket members hadn't taken notice of him yet.

They had their attention fixed on him as they called out a couple of golbat.

"Croconaw, use Hydro P-"

"Thunderbolt!"

Completely blindsided, Ash could only look in terror as the raichu attacked his pokemon, hitting the water type dead on. Croconaw cried out in pain before falling on the ground unconscious, "W-What?"

"I never thought anyone would find us here," Lt. Surge began with a smirk before taking a good look at the trainer and his pokemon. He let out a chuckle when seeing his shocked expression, "If it isn't the little baby that challenged me a few years ago. You don't look that different, still a scrawny brat."

"Croconaw return," Ash returned his pokemon to its ball before fixing the gym leader with a glare. "I don't know what's going on but you'll pay for attacking my friend like a coward," he emerged a pokeball and threw it in the air, "Gible, I choose you!"

Surge smirked and turned to the two Team Rocket members, "I'll humor the kid. You two get out of here, we're done."

Ash paid no attention to the two Rocket members as he called out an attack, "Gible, use Dragon Pulse!"

"Raichu, counter with Thunderbolt!"

The two attacks met in a powerful collision that shot debris everywhere, making the young trainer shield his eyes. When the attack's aftereffects died down it revealed the two pokemon still ready to fight.

"Gible use Dig!"

The dragon type dug into the ground, making the gym leader frown. "Raichu, jump high in the air to avoid being hit!"

"Rai Rai!" The opponent pokemon leapt off the ground, almost hitting the cave's ceiling.

"Gible jump out and use Draco Meteor!" Ash exclaimed as his pokemon jumped out of the ground and shot out a powerful blast of energy that struck the raichu in the stomach, sending it crashing to the cave's ceiling before the attack scattered in different directions.

The end result was the raichu falling towards the ground, followed by a few rocks that crashed into its body. "Raichu return," Lt. Surge returned his pokemon after noticing that it was unconscious. "Magneton, time to fight!"

"Gible, use Dig!"

The pokemon dug into the ground, infuriating the gym leader. Not many of his pokemon's attacks could hit the ground type so he had to improvise, "Magneton use Tri Attack in one of the holes."

The steel type did as instructed, approaching one of the holes before Gible erupted from the ground to deliver a harsh blow to the magneton's body, knocking it back several feet.

"Follow it up with Dragon Pulse!"

"Gible!" The pokemon let loose a blue blast of energy that hit the magneton dead on and knocked it out.

Lt. Surge was livid as he recalled his pokemon. Things were just not going his way. First they were discovered then the kid that had barely beaten him before was making quick work of him. He couldn't allow that to happen, "Electrode, get out here!"

The electrode emerged from the ball with a sneer, rolling back and forth to show it was ready. "Use Magnet Rise!"

"Gible quick, use Dragon Pulse!"

"Gible!" The pokemon let loose it's attack but the faster electrode easily floated past it, sparks emitting between it and the ground.

Lt. Surge smirked when seeing his pokemon get close to the gible, "Now use Explosion!"

"Electrode!" The pokemon shone in a blinding light before causing a powerful explosion that kicked up a massive cloud of smoke.

"Gible are you okay?" Ash called out in panic as he shielded his eyes from the debris and smoke. Dread filled his being when not seeing a sign of Gible anywhere when the smoke died down.

Lt. Surge took out another pokeball, having returned his fainted electrode, and smirked, "Focus on the fight kid, your pokemon is probably dead anyway."

Ash glared, fists tightening as he looked around for any sign of his pokemon.

"Electabuzz, time to fight!" Lt. Surge called out his pokemon, which took its place before Ash with a glare.

"Gible…" Ash muttered in worry before feeling a nudge on his leg, he looked down to see Pikachu pointing as the battlefield, "What is it?"

He didn't have to wait long for an answer as a figure erupted from the ground revealing not Gible, but Gabite, swinging his arms as a show that he was ready.

"What? I took that thing out, I'm sure of it!" Lt. Surge let out in surprise.

Ash smirked, "Awesome. Now, Gabite use Dig!"

"Bite!" The newly evolved dragon type cried out as it dug underground, its fins still visible as it burrowed through.

"Electabuzz use Ice Punch on the ground!"

"Buzz!" The electric type struck the ground in front of it, covering the ground in ice but Gabite quickly emerged from the ground, shooting past the ice and bringing down both claws, covered in a blue aura, on the electabuzz, making a direct hit on its chest.

"Wow you learned Dragon Claw," Ash grinned before pointing at the electabuzz, "Finish this with a Draco Meteor!"

"Gabite!" The pokemon let out happily before sending the attack up in the air, before it came down on the electric type.

"Use Thunderbolt to-" Lt. Surge began but was cut off as the attack engulfed his electabuzz, instantly knocking it out. "D-Dammit!" he cursed before returning his pokemon and glaring at the young trainer.

"Now tell me what's going on here," Ash returned the glare, Pikachu and Gabite doing the same, "Why'd you attack me? Are you part of Team Rocket?"

The older man scoffed before crossing his arms. "I've been with Team Rocket for a while now. I agree with several of their goals and decided to assist them," he turned his back on the trainer, "Let me leave you with this piece of advice. Do not think you can beat Team Rocket. You might be strong but you haven't seen anything yet."

"Wait!" Ash called out before the man suddenly disappeared. "What the?" He ran after the gym leader and found a large hole in the ground. He tried to follow after the gym leader but the large hold suddenly became encased in smoke, followed by it caving in and blocking the way. "He got away…" he muttered, knowing that trying to follow after the gym leader would most likely not end well since he had no idea what was down there.

"We should go to the Pokemon Center again, Croconaw needs it," he spoke to Pikachu as the two left Diglett's Tunnel, the trainer wondering if what Lt. Surge said about Team Rocket had been true.

* * *

**Current Team:**

Pikachu

Quilava

Croconaw

Bayleef

Gabite

Swellow


	5. The Safari Zone

**Pokemon Restart**

**Chapter 5**

**The Safari Zone**

* * *

"What a great day, huh buddy?"

"Cha!"

Ash smiled at his companion as the two walked along the streets of Fuchsia City. It had been around a moth since their last encounter with Team Rocket or anybody he knew for that matter. Most of his time had been spent training his pokemon and he had even rotated some of his team just in case he got into another problem with Team Rocket.

"Let's see…" he trailed off as he pulled out a map of the city, containing some details about it including its most famous spots. One of which caught the trainer's attention, "The Safari Zone? Wow, I never got a chance to go there again. What do you say Pikachu, wanna go see it?"

"Pikachu!" The electric type nodded.

He chuckled as he tried to follow the map. All of his time traveling had done nothing to his sense of direction, it remained horrible and he still tended to get lost from time to time. A scowl etched on his face as he read over the map, turning a street only to be met by a dead end.

Fuchsia City was pretty big, having some tall buildings in the distance, and a large beach which was apparently a hot spot, having opened up a port. He made a mental note to go there later since he wanted to go to Cinnabar. He turned another corner and found himself in an intersection filled with people walking by. He glanced at the map again to see that the Safari Zone was actually close by and that he was going the right way, the only problem that remained was that he didn't know if he had to go straight, left or right.

"You look lost young man."

Ash was broken out of his musings by an older man with short black hair, dressed in casual blue pants and a simple black shirt.

"Yeah," the trainer responded after a brief silence, he looked down at the map and approached the man, pointing at the Safari Zone, "I'm trying to go here but I'm not sure where I have to go."

The man laughed, "Don't worry boy, you're not the first tourist to get lost." He pointed to his right, "Just go that way and you'll reach it. No need for more directions since you'll get there just by going straight."

"Alright, thanks a lot," Ash smiled before he and Pikachu left.

The man watched them go before pulling out a headset and speaking into the microphone, "You've got another one coming your way."

"Roget that."

* * *

"Welcome to the Safari Zone. Today we have a special offer to show our appreciation to our customers. You'll be able to enter free only today and catch all the pokemon you can."

Ash smiled, excitement showing on his face, "Wow, we lucked out, right Pikachu?"

"Pika!" The pokemon nodded happily before Ash approached the glass doors leading out of the small lobby with only a counter and a few chairs.

"I'm sorry sir, but you cannot take any pokemon in there with you," the employee, a woman with shoulder-length dull orange hair spoke with an apologetic smile. "We could make an exception for your pikachu but any other pokemon you have will need to stay here. We'll make sure to take care of them until you get back."

Ash frowned slightly, a bit worried about leaving his pokemon behind, but decided that it was okay. He hadn't run into any trouble in over a month so there was really no reason for him to be so paranoid in an official Safari Zone.

"Okay, here," Ash took off his belt before giving it to the employee, who gave him an appreciative smile before he stepped out of the lobby and into the actual Safari Zone.

As soon as he stepped out he was greeted by the sight of a large field filled with trees and tall grass. He could see a few ponds in the distance and a hill overlooking the area.

"Let's go buddy," he smiled as the two made their way through the Safari Zone.

* * *

Ash knew that all that advertisement about the Safari Zone being filled with all kinds of pokemon had been a lie since, after walking around for a good while, he had yet to run into anything. He slumped his shoulders and glanced at Pikachu, instantly noticing the focused look on his eyes.

"Hey, you okay Pikachu?"

Pikachu remained quiet before suddenly jumping off his shoulder and running off into the tall grass. The young trainer called out to his friend as he tried to keep up, barely managing to keep sight on his yellow tail before the electric type stopped.

"What was that about?" Ash wondered out loud as he pushed past the tall grass. His eyes widened in surprise as Pikachu looked around the area alertly.

Before the two were three unconscious people with their arms and legs tied with rope and mouths covered by dirty pieces of cloth. The trainer wasted no time and quickly helped the unconscious people, taking off their bindings with the help of Pikachu before he tried to shake one awake.

The man he shook began to stir before moving back in fear and screaming for help.

"Whoa! Calm down sir. I'm just a Pokemon Trainer," he held up both hands to show that he wasn't going to attack. The man eyed him warily but didn't try to move away, which he took as a sign for him to keep on talking, "Listen, I just want to know what happened here."

The man looked away with a deep frown, "We were suddenly attacked by some Team Rocket members. We don't have many pokemon of our own so we were easily dispatched. They didn't even go through the trouble of putting us somewhere safe, they just threw us all where they thought no one would find us."

"Team Rocket…" Ash began as terror filled his eyes. He wasted no time and ran off towards the lobby, Pikachu following after him with the same amount of worry. If Team Rocket was in the Safari Zone then they had the perfect opportunity to steal pokemon. "I should've known that entering here for free was too good to be true!"

It didn't take long for the duo to make it to the lobby and meet the startled gaze of the employee. "C-Can I help you?"

"I want my pokemon back!" Ash demanded.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out angrily, sparks emitting from his cheeks.

The woman glared before pulling out a pokeball and calling out a pokemon, "Electrode, Flash!"

Ash didn't have time to react as a blinding light hit his and Pikachu's eyes, making the two look away while the woman ran off. The two blinked away the flash before finally making their chase as the woman had bolted out of the lobby.

They made it out to see the woman entering a truck and starting its engine.

"Oh no you don't! Pikachu use Thunderbolt on the tires, let's go!"

"Pikachu!" The electric type cried out as the attack struck the truck's tires, melting them due to the power behind the attack.

"Dammit!" The woman cried out as she stepped out of the truck, tossing a large bag into the back of the truck as she approached the trainer. "If you want to make this hard, then so be it. Scyther! Sandslash, come out!"

Ash instantly knew he was at a disadvantage as the two pokemon appeared before him and Pikachu. Not only was it a two-on-one battle but Pikachu wouldn't be able to cause a lot of damage to the sandslash and he knew for a fact that the scyther was going to be a problem due to its speed.

He couldn't give up though and, meeting the confident gaze of Pikachu, he knew that his friend wouldn't either. They would make it out and get their friends back no matter what.

"As cool as it is to see you stand against the odds, I'm stepping in!"

Ash froze as he heard the voice, recognizing it as he looked to the side to see a grinning Green walking towards him.

"Blasty, come on out!"

Green's wartortle appeared next to Pikachu, giving him a grin. The electric type nodded as he took a ready stance, his trainer doing the same.

"Alright Pikachu, start this off with a Thunderbolt on that scyther!"

Pikachu unleashed the attack but the sandslash quickly moved in front of its partner, taking the attack without damage since it didn't affect it.

"Blasty, use Hydro Pump!"

The woman frowned, "Sandslash use Dig! Scyther, avoid the attack with Double Team!"

Both pokemon avoided the incoming water attack without much trouble, Scyther instantly moving towards Pikachu while the sandslash remained underground.

Ash frowned as the scyther grew closer before muttering his command to Pikachu, who was able to hear due to his sensitive ears.

"Scyther take the rat down with Slash!"

"Scythe!" The pokemon let out as it swung down its sharp blades on Pikachu, both blades phasing through the electric type that faded from view as soon as the attack made contact.

"What?" The woman let out in surprise.

Ash grinned as Pikachu descended from the sky, having jumped high in the air after his previous command, "Now Pikachu, finish Scyther off with a Thunderbolt!"

"Hang on!" The woman cried out but it was useless as Pikachu shot his attack on the scyther that couldn't react fast enough to avoid being hit. It cried out in pain as the electricity ran through its body before it finally fell on the ground unconscious.

"Way to go buddy!"

The woman glared, "Sandslash, aim for the pikachu!"

Ash grinned, "Pikachu use Substitute!"

The electric type jumped high in the air, leaving behind a slightly tangent copy of itself on the ground which was struck by the sandslash's attack.

"Blasty, end this with a Hydro Pump!"

"Wartortle!" The pokemon cried out as it let loose a powerful torrent of water that hit the sandslash dead on, instantly knocking it out.

"Freaking kids…" the woman glared before returning her pokemon and taking off, leaving the truck and bag of pokeballs behind.

Ash was tempted to run after her but decided against it, wanting to check on his pokemon as fast as possible.

* * *

The sun was setting as Ash and Green sat on the beach, the former exhausted after the amount of stress he went through, while Green counted the money she had swiped from the truck the woman had left behind. He knew he should've said something but he hadn't cared that much since he had been preoccupied with checking on his pokemon. After making sure they were okay, the two trainers had gone to Officer Jenny, telling her all about what was going on before finally going to rest.

"It was lucky you were there," he spoke after a moment of silence, receiving a smile from the brunette.

"Of course I'd be there to help you out Ashy," she smiled at him and put the money on her bag. "Listen, I'm not one to ask favors but, seeing as I helped you get your pokemon back, I have a favor to ask."

Ash stared at her blankly, "You stole my wallet last time we met. I think we're even."

"Oh! About that," she chuckled nervously before digging into her bag and taking out the wallet she had taken. Ash took it back and fought the urge to yell out in frustration, it figured that the wallet would be empty. "Now that that's settled, I want you to help me with something on Cinnabar Island."

He rose an eyebrow at that, "Help with what?"

"I'm looking for… this!" Green pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper with the drawing of a pokemon that made his eyes widen. "Mew, the pokemon I've wanted to encounter for a long time."

"Why's that?"

She gave him an innocent smile, giggling slightly as she hugged the picture to her chest, "Because it's the cutest pokemon ever. Why else?"

Ash cocked his head in confusion, Pikachu doing the same, "Why would it be on Cinnabar Island?"

"It's not there," she admitted as she pocketed the drawing, "There's a bit of info on it there and it'll be great help in finding it."

"Alright," he muttered before shrugging, "I was going to Cinnabar anyway, so I guess I'll help you out. It'll give me a chance to train."

"That's great," she smiled and patted his back. "Okay then..." she rose to a standing position, "We're leaving immediately."

"What?"

Green placed her hands on her hips with a confident look on her face, "The boat to Cinnabar is pretty fast and we'll get there at night, not to mention that because there's some big Pokemon Contest thing going on, we'll have the perfect chance to look around freely since everyone's going to be focused on it."

"I hadn't heard anything about a Pokemon Contest."

"Yeah, there's going to be a prestigious one on the island since it's apparently a way to be recommended to some other contest thing," she trailed off and pointed a finger at him, "The point is that a lot of famous coordinators are going to be there and everyone's going to be completely distracted by them. We'll use this to our advantage and get the info I need tomorrow."

"That's fine I guess," Ash shrugged and stood up as well before stretching his arms over his head and allowing Pikachu to climb up his shoulder, "I don't have any money on me right now though."

Green sighed and shook her head, "Even though making a lady pay is something you should never do, I'll pay for your ticket. Just remember to pay me back soon, okay?"

Ash nodded though he felt like snapping at the polite smile she was giving him. It really seemed that she had no intention of bringing up the fact that she had stolen more than enough to pay for the ticket from him.

'_Oh well,' _he scratched Pikachu's head as Green lead the way to where the port was, _'She helped me get my pokemon back. I guess that makes us even.'_

* * *

**Current Team:  
**

Pikachu

Quilava

Croconaw

Sceptile

Gabite

Donphan


	6. Reunion at Cinnabar

**Pokemon Restart **

**Chapter 5**

**Reunion at Cinnabar**

* * *

"Alright, let's go over our story once again," Green declared with a smile on her face as she and a grumbling Ash walked through the buy streets of Cinnabar Island. "We're a couple in love that came here to see the Pokemon Contest! We met in Cerulean City and instantly fell in love."

Ash heard Pikachu snicker and threw him a glare before turning back to the girl, "Why do we have to do this again?"

She sighed in response. "Look around you," she said, motioning at the crowds of people walking through the street even though it was getting late. There were also several decorations around the island that made it seem more like a festival than a simple Pokemon Contest. "Just look at these crowds, imagine how hard it'll be to find an open room in the Pokemon Center," she pointed at him with a grin, "That's why we'll pretend to be a couple just in case they don't have any rooms with separate beds. That way Nurse Joy wouldn't have as much of a problem in giving us a room."

"I get that," he replied, "But why the cover story? It's not like Nurse Joy is going to ask about how we met or anything like that."

"That's just in case we run into someone," she explained with a shrug, "Imagine if someone just decided to talk to us while Nurse Joy is nearby, we'd be put on the spot and, no offense, but I don't think you're the kind of person capable of quick thinking."

"Alright," he sighed out, deciding to let the jab at his ego go. He heard Pikachu yawn from his place on his shoulder and looked ahead to see the Pokemon Center. "Don't worry buddy, you'll get some rest soon," he gave Green a grin, "So, Cerulean City, right?"

"Yup," she smiled as the two stood in front of the Pokemon Center, "Just leave most of the talking to me, I'm good at making people like me. Oh, and don't pull away."

Ash didn't have a chance to ask what she meant as she latched onto his arm and pulled him inside the building. He felt his cheeks heat up slightly as she quickly made her way to Nurse Joy, who looked at them with a smile.

"Hi Nurse Joy," Green greeted with a warm smile.

"She's good," he whispered to Pikachu, who nodded his head in agreement.

"I'm Green and this is my boyfriend –"

"Ash?"

Said trainer glanced back to the source of the voice and smiled, Pikachu cheering happily as he jumped off Ash's shoulder and onto the arms of their old friend.

"Hi Pikachu, it's good to see you," May smiled at the pokemon before glancing back at Ash, her smile faltering slightly when seeing the girl latching onto his arm, "Um… Hi Ash."

Ash smiled but was suddenly nudged on the ribs, making him wince slightly, he glared at Green but she only smiled in return and leaned close to his ear.

"What are you doing idiot? We have to make this look convincing."

"Right," he smiled sheepishly, forgetting about their plan after seeing May. "Could we get a room Nurse Joy?"

The nurse smiled as she reached behind her and pulled out a keycard, "Here you go, your girlfriend told me that you'd pay for the room in the morning, so you don't have to worry about filling anything out right now."

"Thank you very much," Green smiled at her before pulling Ash away from Nurse Joy with May and Pikachu following after them. "Well now that that's settled I'm going to our room, we need rest for tomorrow," she gave him a grin, "I'll see you in our room Ashy!"

Ash muttered something under his breath as he turned his attention back to May, a smile forming on his lips, "So May, here for the Contest?"

"Yeah," she replied a bit awkwardly before putting Pikachu on the floor and giving the two an apologetic smile, "Sorry but I have to get going. It was really good seeing you guys again."

"It was," Ash replied a bit disappointed. He would have liked to have spent some time with May but it looked like she was busy because of the contest. "Well, I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah, see you later," she waved at them before leaving the Pokemon Center, leaving Ash a bit confused by her behavior.

* * *

May couldn't help but sigh as she sat on one of the benches in the park just behind the Pokemon Center. Ash having a girlfriend had been totally unexpected and she'd be lying if she said that it didn't hurt to see them together. She'd had a crush on Ash for a while now, ever since she saw him save Pikachu from Team Rocket back when they first met, of course it wasn't anywhere near where it was now.

There was just something about the way he stepped up against danger yet remained gentle to his friends and pokemon that captivated her. They'd also spent a lot of time together and he'd been her teacher for a good while, it was really no surprise that she ended up with a giant crush on him. It wasn't until Drew showed up and started being romantic that she thought her crush had been replaced. Well into their journey in Kanto, when the two of them had won the Terracotta Ribbon she finally realized that her crush on Ash was still there. Despite this she ended up following after Drew, thinking that Ash being as dense as he was, wasn't interested in her.

Then they met again. This time in Sinnoh where Ash had a new traveling companion, a very pretty girl this time. She remembered feeling a bit jealous but the feeling went away after spending time with them, Dawn didn't appear to be interested and Ash had been so excited to see her that she knew there was nothing between them. Her trip to Sinnoh ended too soon and she left with a heavy feeling in her heart, wishing that she could travel with Ash again. The crush on Drew was long gone by then and her feelings for Ash had become something else she couldn't understand yet.

At least, until seeing him with a girlfriend.

"Pika?"

Her eyes widened at the sudden noise and she tore her gaze from the ground to see Pikachu standing on the bench with a worried look on his face. "What's-" she stopped abruptly, noticing how hoarse her voice was.

"May…"

She looked up to see Ash standing there with a worried expression on his face, "Why are you crying?"

"W-what?" Her hands went to her face and she could feel tears on her face. She quickly wiped them away and forced a smile, "Don't worry about it… I guess I'm just a little homesick." It wasn't a complete lie, she was remembering a time where she'd rather be.

"Hey, don't cry," Ash spoke gently as he took a sit next to her, looking a bit panicked over what to do. She giggled at the look of sheer panic on his face, making him look at her in surprise, "Why are you laughing now?"

She continued to laugh before giving him a warm teary smile, "It's just… you're so… funny when you look so worried."

An unknown feeling appearing in his chest as he looked at the smile on her tear stricken face, it was like something swept over him so strongly that he couldn't do much more than blush. "Um… So you're feeling better?"

She blushed slightly and nodded.

Pikachu watched the two with a smile, deciding to keep quiet and let the two work out whatever was going on.

"You know May," he began, earning a curious look from said girl, "I'm really happy to see you here. Green's a good friend and all but she's a bit weird."

'_Friend,' _May felt a bit of hope rise in her chest, "What's so weird about her?"

"Well the way she acts is weird I guess…" he struggled to think of something before smiling and raising a finger, "Like just now, when she told me to pretend to be her boyfriend."

"P-pretend…"

"Yeah," Ash nodded, "She said it'd be easier to get a room if we pretended to be a couple."

May couldn't begin to describe the amount of relief she felt at those words. She laughed to herself and smacked Ash's shoulder lightly, "Idiot, why didn't you tell me earlier." He looked at her oddly but she only shook her head with a smile, "So what are you doing here Ash. Is the girl that was with you a coordinator?"

He shook his head, "She wants us to look for some information somewhere here. I'm not sure where we're gonna go exactly but I have to help her since she helped me get my pokemon back."

"Get them back? What happened?"

"Team Rocket," he responded with a frown, "They've been trouble ever since I started traveling through Kanto again."

She looked at him with curiosity in her eyes, "Why are you going through Kanto again? I thought for sure you'd have gone to a new region after the Sinnoh League. By the way, congratulations! You made it pretty far."

He smiled in return, "Thanks but I thought that I could've been better prepared." He looked down at Pikachu with a bit of regret, "I guess I finally realized that I was going through everything too fast. I did make it far but it wasn't fair for my pokemon to get hurt all the time just because I didn't take the time to train them. That's why I decided to travel through Kanto again, so that I could train all my pokemon before going to another region."

May looked at him fondly, thinking to herself that the love for his pokemon hadn't changed. "Well, when the time comes for you to start traveling again tell me, maybe we could go together?" She instantly blushed at the request. The words had just come out and, looking at the shocked look on Ash's face, she berated herself for –

"Sure," he smiled, breaking her out of her musing with the simple word. Her blush deepened as she gazed at his determined face while she cheered on the inside. "I'll be sure to call you before I go somewhere else. I really liked traveling with you."

"Me too," she beamed at him before raising from the bench and picking up Pikachu who smiled contently, "We should get going, it's getting late."

"I'll walk you to your room," he offered as he followed after her, not wanting to separate from her so quickly.

* * *

Time flew by for Ash and May as they found themselves standing before the door of her room. Pikachu stood next to his trainer, not wanting to get in the way of his two friends, who simply stood there not knowing what to say. May was the first to speak as she remembered something Ash had told her in the park.

"Hey Ash, maybe I could help you guys out tomorrow," she offered. It would give her the opportunity to spend more time with him while at the same time keeping that other girl away.

Ash wondered why it was that he was so excited about May going with him but he knew she couldn't. "You have your contest May, I don't want you to miss it because of me," he gave her a small smile as he placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye, "I'm cheering for you May. I know you'll do awesome in the contest."

"Well, you better come look for me when you're done, got it?" She smiled at him, feeling a bit disappointed yet at the same time touched that he worried about her.

"Don't worry I will, there's so much I want to talk to you about," he replied with a boyish grin.

May nodded, a blush creeping up on her cheeks as she suddenly wrapped her arms around Ash and pulled him into a hug, her head resting on his chest. She felt him stiffen before he wrapped his arms around her, making her smile. He was so warm and she could hear just how wildly his heart was beating in his chest, probably as much as her own.

She pulled away from his warmth and gave him a smile, "Well, goodnight, I'll see you tomorrow!"

"G-good night!" He replied as he watched the door close behind her.

"Pika pikapi!"

Ash's blush deepened as he shot his friend a glare, "I'm not blushing!"

* * *

**Current Team:  
**

Pikachu

Quilava

Croconaw

Sceptile

Gabite

Donphan


	7. Abandoned Mansion

**Pokemon Restart**

**Chapter 6**

**Abandoned Mansion**

* * *

"So who was that girl from yesterday?" Green asked as she and Ash walked down a dirt path leading away from town.

Ash grinned. "She's a friend I used to travel with," he replied before catching sight of an old building in the distance. "Is that it?"

Green looked ahead and smiled. In the distance was an old mansion with boarded up doors and windows. The walls were in bad shape with weeds growing on parts of it, probably due to the overgrown grass.

"That's it," Green grinned as she approached the mansion's blocked door and drew a pokeball. "Go, Nido!" A nidorina emerged from the ball, letting out a happy cry when seeing its trainer. "Use Double Kick on the door!"

The pokemon nodded and kicked at the blocked door, knocking it off its hinges with two powerful kicks.

Green giggled. "Thank you Nido," she returned the pokemon to her ball before turning to Ash with an exited smile, "Let's go in Ashy!"

He grumbled at the nickname, remembering the times when Gary had called him that, while Pikachu snickered as the two followed after her. They were greeted with a large barely lit room with a lot of debris on the floor, there were several paintings on the walls, and the set of stairs leading to the second floor had collapsed.

"Finding anything here is going to be tougher than it looks…" Green muttered to herself before letting out a sigh. "I wish I had thought of catching a venonat or some other pokemon that could make this easier," she placed her hands on her hips before glancing back at Ash, "We should split up. I'll go right, you go left."

Ash glanced at the two doorwyas on either side of him, briefly wondering if splitting up was a good idea but dismissing it as Green was already entering her selected room. "I guess we should get going too," he told his pokemon, who dropped from his shoulder to walk in front of him just in case there was trouble.

The duo entered the room and were met by pretty much the same setting save for the statue in the middle of the room. Ash looked at it in curiosity, it was a dark stone statue of a persian with glaring red eyes. He gave it a passing glance as he set to look around the room, only now remembering that he had no idea what he was looking for.

"See anything suspicious Pikachu?"

"Pika," Pikachu pointed at the statue in the middle of the room.

Ash nodded in agreement, "I think so too but we should probably wait for Green, she's the one that knows what we're looking for."

The two waited in the room before an annoyed Green walked into the room, her face covered in dust.

"I'm going to need a long bath after this," she muttered to herself as she approached the trainer and pokemon, "Find anything interesting?"

Ash nodded towards the statue, "That's the only weird thing we found, though it probably would've helped if you told us what we're looking for."

Green dismissed him with a wave of her hands as she approached the odd statue. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she studied the stone persian before a smile spread across her face and she reached out to grasp the statue's raised paw. Behind her, Ash and Pikachu watched in curiosity as she pulled the paw down.

"Weird… I thought for sure that would do something," Green pouted but was silenced as a low rumbling emitted from behind one of the walls. Ash and Pikachu moved to stand next to Green as one of the walls slid open, revealing a set of stairs leading down. "Oh yeah. I'm good," she cheered before walking towards the stairs.

"Just what is this place?" Ash wondered out loud as he and Pikachu followed Green down the set of stairs. His curiosity only grew when they reached the end of the steps. They had reached a brightly lit room with white walls, having many computers and odd machines lined up against them.

"It's here I'm sure of it!" Green cheered as she looked around the room, noticing that there were three different doorways they could take. "Let's split up again," she instructed, "We're looking for a small machine that can attach to your face. It should look like a mix between binoculars and goggles. I'll check the computers for information on Mew."

Ash nodded. "Alright then," he proceeded to move though one of the doorways leading to a large room filled with all sorts of machines. "What do you think they did here Pikachu?"

"Pika… chu," his pokemon replied as he looked around the room incuriosity, until noticing something, "Pikapi!"

"What is it?" Ash exclaimed as Pikachu broke into a run through the machines. The young trainer followed after his pokemon, passing by many machines until Pikachu came to a stop before a large glass container.

"Chu, pika."

Ash approached the container and gasped, seeing a trembling blanket curled up against the glass. Hearing noise, two brown ears emerged from the blanket before a small eevee timidly peeked its head out, looking at the trainer and pokemon in fear.

"Hey, no need to be scared. We're not going to hurt you," Ash spoke gently. He looked around for any way to let the pokemon free before noticing a blue button next the container, label with the word _release. _The trainer pushed the button without hesitation, the container raising enough to allow Eevee to be free. "There you go."

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out happily as he moved near the brown pokemon and offered his paw as a greeting. Eevee looked at it curiously before smirking and lashing out with its tail, knocking Pikachu back a couple of feet.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out in worry as he looked at Eevee angrily, "What was that for?"

"Pika!" Pikachu raised to his feet and stared the smirking pokemon down.

"Eevee. Vee!" The pokemon charged in at Pikachu without warning,

Ash frowned. "If that's what you want, then fine! Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"

"Pika!" Pikachu let out as he broke into a sprint, planning to meet Eevee's attack dead on but the brown pokemon jumped over Pikachu at the last moment, spinning in place before landing safely on the ground.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu nodded and let loose a bolt of electricity towards Eevee who only smirked as it's whole body shone brightly. Ash and Pikachu watched in shock as the eevee grew in size and took the shape of a jolteon who absorbed the Thunderbolt without any harm.

"Jolt!" The pokemon cried out as it let loose a powerful Discharge that knocked Pikachu back a couple of feet, and overcharged nearby machines which resulted in several explosions.

Ash shielded his eyes from the smoke and sparks, before looking at Pikachu. "Use Iron Tail!"

"Pikachu!" The electric type leapt towards a nearby wall before kicking off of it to jump high in the air.

Jolteon smirked and glowed white once more, reverting back to its eevee form, before using a Quick Attack to dodge the incoming Iron Tail. Eevee then glowed white, growing in size again but this time taking the shape of a flareon.

"Flare!" The fire type let out a powerful Flamethrower that struck a surprised Pikachu that cried out in pain as he crashed into a nearby machine.

"Pikachu, you okay?" Ash exclaimed in concern which turn to relief when he saw his friend get up and nod firmly. The trainer quickly formulated a strategy in his mind despite being utterly shocked at what the eevee was doing. "Alright Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as he became enveloped in electricity and broke into an all-out sprint towards Flareon, who only smirked and returned to its Eevee form before beginning to glow once more.

Ash gritted his teeth as he waited for the perfect moment. He watched in deep focus as Eevee began to grow in size before smirking confidently.

"Quick Pikachu! Turn it into an Iron Tail!"

"Pika…" Pikachu dropped the electricity covering his body and used to momentum to leap towards the newly formed jolteon, spinning in the air for added strength before delivering a powerful Iron Tail to the pokemon's head.

"Jolteon!" The pokemon cried out in pain before falling unconscious on the ground and reverting back to its eevee form.

Ash quickly came to a decision and pulled out an empty pokeball. "Pokeball, go!"

The pokeball met its mark and pulled the pokemon inside before falling on the ground and twitching wildly. Ash watched the pokeball anxiously, brow furrowed, before it stopped shaking and let out the satisfying sound that meant he had just caught a new pokemon. He smiled as the pokeball became encased in a white light and disappeared.

"Pikapi pika?" Pikachu let out, looking at Ash curiously.

"I figured that Professor Oak should have a look at it. He'll know why Eevee could change between evolutions at will like that," he explained before patting his pokemon's head fondly, "Good job buddy. You did amazing."

"Pikachu," the pokemon pumped a fist in the air.

Ash chuckled, "Come on, let's go find Green."

* * *

Green smiled to herself as she held the device she'd been looking for in her hands. It was the Silph Scope, a device that, according to her findings, was able to spot Mew wherever it was. From her research she found out that Mew was referred by some as 'The Mirage Pokemon' due to it only making itself visible only when it wanted.

Hearing footsteps, Green turned her attention away from the device as to an agitated Ash and Pikachu. The pokemon looked a lot worse than its trainer and she could see that they were covered in dust.

"What happened to you two?"

Ash and Pikachu approached Green, both looking at the device on her hands oddly, before he spoke, "We ran into some trouble with a pokemon. I ended up catching it."

Were it any other time Green would have possibly pressed for details but she was too excited over the Silph Scope finally being in her possession to care. "Let's get out of here already, there's no useful data in here anyway," she pushed passed the two and headed for the exit, all the while smiling happily to herself.

Ash couldn't help but grin as he and Pikachu followed after the impatient girl.

* * *

"They took a boat to Cinnabar!" A Team Rocket member cowered under the piercing gaze glaring at him through the shadows of a barely lit room.

"I see…" a man spoke through the shadows, thoughtfulness on his voice, "And where were you when the brats got away with all the pokemon we collected on the Safari Zone?"

The Rocket member swallowed a lump in his throat, "Um… I was…not present..?"

A flash of white shone behind the Rocket member, a venomoth appearing before him as he stepped away from it in fear.

"P-Please sir! It won't happen again!"

"I know," the man replied before issuing a command to his pokemon, "Psychic!"

* * *

**Current Team:**

Pikachu

Quilava

Croconaw

Sceptile

Gabite

Donphan


End file.
